Hammer boring fit was: Re: TOOLS/Hide Glue, etc

Kdivad@AOL.COM Kdivad@AOL.COM
Tue, 14 May 2002 11:33:32 -0400


In a message dated Tue, 14 May 2002 10:17:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time, "David Love" <davidlovepianos@earthlink.net> writes:

>Yes and no.  Glue generally operates best as a thin bonding layer.  However,
>hot hide glue does have good gap filling properties.  Keep in mind, though,
>I'm not talking about moving at the joint such that the hammer will fall off
>the shank.  I usually bore to exact shank size and ream slightly to fit with
>a minimum amount of play.  It would be nice if things were bored exactly.
>But as careful as I am, with a fancy Renner boring jig, I still have the
>slightest bit of correction to do sometimes.  I don't really consider it a
>problem and hot hide glue (not cold hide) fills that small gap very nicely.
>
>The thread also mentioned prebored hammers.  I think it is important to bore
>them yourself for replacement.  Steinway has a standard bore that they use
>and changes the angle only every 1.5 degrees.  I can't remember a Steinway
>that would have matched that standard bore distance exactly and if you want
>a smoother fan without reaming, you will have to change the angles more
>frequently.
>
>The message in this whole thread is really to bore them yourself.  It's not
>hard and not expensive to set up for it.  Also, if you are doing tapering,
>you will need to do it before tailing.  Prebored hammers from Steinway also
>come tailed.  Prehung hammers are an even worse idea.  Hanging distance will
>frequently vary with moving strike points.  All Steinway hammers a glued at
>5 1/8".  It won't always work.
>
>David Love
>
The same proceedure I use, I love the Renner boring jig but occasionally mess up, minor discrepencies fixed with a reamer. Another reason I bore my own is that string heights vary greatly from section to section sometimes 1/4 inch so I bore my hammers accordingly.

David Koelzer
DFW



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